Gifting Books: Audrey Bunny

Each time you open a book and read it, a tree smiles knowing there is life after death.  ~Unknown

There's a parents' page in the back
for parents to interact with their child.

I was delighted to find Aubrey Bunny in Amazon's new book list.  I have been following Breezy Bookshire's emerging talent for several years. Her illustrations in this book are delightful. I was surprised to read the flyleaf and find out Breezy lives in Marion, Indiana where RB works and our Emily studies. 

Gift with white chocolate pink bunnies and a soft brown bunny

Angie Smith, wife of Todd Smith who sings lead in Selah, wrote Audrey Bunny. It wasn't until I received the book that I realized that I have also followed Angie's blog, Bring the Rain.  I'm sure there are many of you follow it, too. And if so, you are not surprised that she named the bunny Audrey and the little girl Caroline. They were named after her daughter, Audrey Caroline, who lived only two and a half hours after her birth, yet touched so many in those few hours.


Audrey Bunny wanted to belong to someone, to be chosen, yet she had a mark, an imperfection, that she thought made her unlovable. But Caroline knew...well I'll just let you find out for yourself what Caroline knew.

We, too, long to be chosen, to belong, yet our imperfections make us feel we are unworthy in God's eyes. Unworthy of His love, unworthy of His grace, unworthy of His blessings.  

In His hands, God holds our mars, yet in His heart He holds so much love--love that fills the hands, covering our mars. God loves us -- just the way we are. When we truly grasp that thought our hearts respond, I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well (Psalm 139:14).

Linked to: 

Walking Redeemed
Whole Hearted Home

Gifting Books: God's Shelter

RB had a hard week. One of his students recently lost his three-year-old son due to complications of an asthma attack. Heartbreaking, as those of us who have lost a child understand. This week, in the midst of extreme grief, his wife took her own life. RB spent hours listening to this young man, a youth pastor in a storm of unthinkable grief.

Where do we run to when silent lightening, with no warning thunder, streaks through our heart? When the accompanying rain soaks through our soul, leaving us wonder where we can go for shelter?  

Gift Shelia's book with an umbrella and
Betty Crocker's Chocolate Chip Heart Cookies.

 In God's Shelter For Your Storm, Sheila Walsh writes:

I saw something that was breathtakingly beautiful to me. I saw not only that all God's promises of shelter are fulfilled in Christ, but that He is our Shelter. He is the cleft in the rock. Christ's promise to us is not that He will give us shelter but that He will be our Shelter.

If you hear the distant rumblings of thunder, if the skeletal fingers of lightning burn into your soul and a seemingly unpenetrable curtain of grief rains on your heart, run to the Rock -- to Christ. He's waiting to not only shelter you, but to be your Shelter.

Linked to:
Hearts for Home
Friendship Friday
Hearts for Home

Gifting Books: Inspired You & Giveaway

If our highest priority is walking in faith and loving our families, we'll find joy in the sofa stains, the scratches on the dining room table, and the pile of shoes by the door.  ~Marian Parson

Shelter a friend with the gift of a book

In the flyleaf of "Inspired You:  Letting God Breathe New Life into Your Heart and Home," Marian Parson writes, 

Homes don't have to be magazine material to be special, comfortable and inviting. The goal you're working toward is home. Not a perfect home. Not an "impress the neighbors" home. Just home -- one whose walls and rooms tell the story of the family who lives there.

My sister's home does look like magazine material. It's a gift from God. But the beauty in her home is not the perfection, the beauty is in the feeling of warmth the minute you walk through the doorway.
It's the tea light candle tucked in a china cup, the stack of old books waiting to be read. It's in the family pictures which grace her grand piano and tabletops. It's in the joy banner her daughter made her which hangs over her kitchen table and speaks clearly of the the joy in her heart and home.  

Melodie's touches

Marian says, "Almost anyone can create an amazing space with a limitless budget, but it takes a lot of creativity, resourcefulness, and patience to put together a space with limited funds." Melodie's antique basket, overflowing with hydrangeas.(Basket cost 50 cents at a yard sale.

I loved reading this book, but viewing the pictures inspired me, too.  I can't wait to see who wins it. Leave a comment, either here or on Sheltering Tree's facebook page if you'd like to be entered to win. 

Click to see larger

One of the projects in the book is a framed chalkboard. Any frame will work and a thin board sprayed with chalkboard paint. It is a great way to gift this book. I wrapped it with a paper sack, wrapped it with twine and tucked chalk into the twine. The tags are below for you to print.

I leave Miss Mustard Seed's final words with you.  

Hopefully you'll create an inviting home for your family, you'll find increasing joy,

and you'll discover the inspired you.

 Click for Marian aka Miss Mustard Seed's blog.

Karen from Pink Parsonage won Homemade with Love.

 Linked to:

Sarah and The Homemaking Party

Mama Bear and Thriving Thursdays

Jessica and Thoughtful Thursday

Little Inconsistencies and Book Giveaway

The steady discipline of intimate friendship with Jesus results in men becoming like Him. ~Harry Emerson Fosdick


Our sweet Emily finished her sophomore year yesterday of college (and may I brag -- with a 4.0). To mark her achievement I whipped up a pan of penuche. In my haste to have it waiting for her when she walked in the door, I grabbed the vanilla and poured some into the pan. Only it wasn't vanilla -- it was hickory flavor! Believe me, one teaspoon of hickory can make a big difference in taste.  If someone was judging my cooking by that pan of fudge my score wouldn't be very high.

As I was reflecting on my mishap, the Holy Spirit gently reminded me how one small sin can ruin my Christian testimony. An unkind word, a bad attitude, gossip -- and if one was judged my Christian life by my words and actions, I would be stand guilty of hypocrisy -- proclaiming myself to be a follower of Christ, yet not being like Him.

I have found more and more that people don't judge us on the big things. We all have that down pat. We read our Bibles, we don't steal or kill. We live pure lives and attend church regularly.  

But jealousy -- even though we try our hardest to keep it hidden, it shows as much as if our eyes really did turn green. Gossip masked as concern. Snippy responses to or about those who annoy us. Ingratitude for our blessings. Paul Gilbert wrote: 

You are writing a Gospel, 

A chapter each day,

By deeds that you do, 

By words that you say.

Men read what you write,

Whether faithless or true;

Say, what is the Gospel

According to you?

Questions I ask myself  are, "If I say this is my light shinning?" Will this attitude help others see Jesus?" "Will the joy of the Lord be evident in this action?"  

In 1893, Thomas Chisholm read Hannah Whitehall Smith's book, A Christian's Secret of a Happy Life.  Although he was only 27, this book so impacted Chisholm's life, giving him a yearning for living more like Christ, that he wrote a hymn -- one of my favorites. 

Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.

Oh! to be like Thee, lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.

Oh! to be like Thee, while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love,
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

I'll be more careful about the flavoring I use in my cooking. But more importantly, I'll be careful of the little inconsistencies in my life -- those that keep me from being like Jesus.

* * * * *

SuzyQ won Knit Together by Debbie Macomber 

Leave a comment if you would like to be entered to win 

Homemade with Love: 

Simple Scratch Cooking from in Jennie's Kitchen

by Jennifer Perillo.

Free Printable Tag

To gift this book I made a simple apron, tucked it in a canning jar and added a cookie scoop. You could use any utensil -- wooden spoons, a spatula, etc. 

Apron:  Four fat quarters in coordinating fabrics.  

1. For the main part of the apron measure 2" from a dinner plate, cutting one from your main fabric and one from the 2nd fabric. You may wish to add more inches, mine was for a "little cook."

2. Cut top of circle off 2". Right sides together sew, leaving top open.  Turn.  

3. Cut 3rd quarter in 3 pieces, sewing short ends together. I frenched my seams so there wouldn't be raw edges. 

4. Sew shirttail hem on one long end. Fold top and sew gathering stitches. Gather to fit and attach to apron.  

5. Cut 4th quarter in thirds and sew together.  Iron in half, wrong sides together and then turn up 1/2 in on both long ends. Tuck top of apron in band, sewing close to edge from tie end to the other.  

Linked to:

Say it Saturday

Make Your Heart Sing Monday 

Gifting Books: Knit Together

Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness.  It is not obtained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.  ~Helen Keller 

Do you know what your purpose is in life -- your worthy purpose? Has God instilled a big dream in your heart? One that makes your heart do a happy dance when you think about it?

Jo, in Little Women said, "I think I shall write books, and get rich and famous. That would suit me so that is my favorite dream." It was my favorite dream, too. But dreams are just that -- dreams. In order to fulfill our God-given gifts (for His dreams are gifted-equipped), we must develop our skills or as Helen Keller said, obtain them through fidelity.

In Debbie Macomber's book, Knit together, she says, "From the moment each of us is created, God has a purpose for us.  We don't necessarily know what it looks like at first, but we can be sure it's there, somewhere inside us."

I had the dream, but I also had to commit to some hard work to see God's purpose realized. I took a writing course to learn the mechanics of submitting my writing for publication.  I attended writing conferences, learning from authors like Francine Rivers and Melody Carlson. I wrote each morning from four until seven while my children were sleeping. (Because they were my first purpose.)

What's your God-placed dream? Ask God to help you write a plan of action. Give total fidelity to developing the action plan. Watch with amazement as the plan unfolds.  God wants to use you!

Debbie's book, Knit Together, is a great gift for a knitting friend.  Her books are so easy to read because she weaves stories throughout the chapters -- actually, much of it reads like fiction. Gift it with a skein of yarn and some wooden knitting needles. Wrap it together with ribbon (you all know my obsession with ribbon).

I've made a tag for that finishing touch. Feel free to print. If you're not sure your friend would like non-fiction, use Knit Together: An Amish Knitting Novel by Karen Anna Vogel. "Two cultures knit together by one faith."

What "extras" would you use to gift one of these books?

 

Gifting Books: Book Lover's Devotional and Giveaway

A book is a gift you can open again and again. ~Garrison Keillor

Hello all my bibliophile lovelies!

Make sure your paper is going the right direction.
I didn't notice the words were sideways until I
loaded the pictures.

I am starting a Thursday post, Gifting Books. It's all about creative ways to gift books.  Use the ideas for your own gift giving or let what you find here play with your own creative muse (I hope you will share your ideas, too).  

Sometimes the books will be inspirational -- intended to encourage you or the one you gift them to. Sometimes it will be a creative book to use as a resource for your own sheltering ministry. And many times the chosen book will be gifted to one of you. 

Do you have a go-to book for gifts?  Suggest a book in the comments or send to pj_kuhn@comcast.net. I'll come up with some creative ways to gift them.

If you would like to guest blog some week with your Gifting Books ideas, message me. All I ask is that the book is non-fiction and has two other gift components.  

For our first book I chose The Book Lover's Devotional. This contains 56 readings, each one taken from literature, including Little Women, White Fang and A Wrinkle in Time. Only four pages each, with questions at the end to encourage application to our own lives.

Excerpt

The Screwtape Letters

Free Printable: Read On Bookmark

Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it (2 Corinthians 3:2).

Lewis paints a true picture of the differences between God and the devil. "We [the demons] want cattle that can finally become food.  He wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in; He wants to give out. We are empty and would be full; He is full and flows over." 

What can you do to make the letter God has written on your heart easier for people around you to read and respond to?  

I chose to gift this book with Reading Fodder snack mix, a bookmark (free printable above) and highlighter. To keep down cost I covered a nut can with some pretty paper, printed a label and added a flower to the lid.  

Reading Fodder

1. 3 cups Frosted Toast 
    Crunch cereal 

2. 1 bag m&ms

3. 1 cup peanuts

4. 1 cup cashews

5. 1 cup dried berries

6. Just mix and enjoy.  

The Book Lover's Devotional giveaway is for my Facebook fans. If you are a fan, leave me a message in the comment section. And if you aren't, just click that little button and let me know.

Happy reading!